On 19 Apr (Saturday) Sai took us to Crooked Street known for the way it twists and turns down a hill slope. Quite risky to drive also. We drove down the street .It was an interesting experience. It was very breezy and cold but enjoyable alright. From Crooked Street we went to Coit Tower. This Tower which is on top of Telegraph Hill is 63 meters tall There is a Lift inside the Tower and we can go right up the Tower from where we could get a breathtaking view of the City. On the way back we went to Sai's office .Although closed we had a general idea as we were only on the ground floor of the multi storeyed building. Sai is working on the 26th floor.
We later went to a coffee shop in a large Square (open area) where they were making arrangements for some musical performance. San Franciscans really become alive once summer starts setting in .We also went to Macy's a famous shopping mall. The richness of the shop and the cost of the items displayed were indeed amazing and there were people out there who were willing to pay the price. We obviously merely went Window shopping.
On 20 Apr (Sunday) Teju and Swapna joined us for lunch. They were coming from Walnut Creek which is quite a distance from us, by local train called BART (Bay Area Rail Transport) and by Ferry. We picked them up from the Ferry Terminal near San Rafael and after lunch we dropped them at the Ferry terminal at Sausalito. (please refer http://www.maps.google.com/ ) Latha handed over the gold ornament which she had brought all the way from Secunderabad. Needless to say that both the husband and wife were very happy to receive the same.
We went for a Sai Bhajan on 24 Apr 08, Thursday in the San Francisco Sai Center at 573, Van Ness Avenue. The Centre is on the first floor of a building with three to four rooms -one for bhajans, one for the library and one for study circle. The flat has been donated by some devotee here. Huge photographs of Swami greeted us everywhere .In the Bhajan hall there was a harmonium, tabla, mikes etc.
In addition to Latha, Sai and I, there was only one lady present. Two other devotees joined us late .The Bhajan session started with 3 Omkars , after which Ganesh Bhajan was sung followed by Guru etc.The only difference was that each Bhajan singer has to first mention the number of the Bhajan he/she is going to sing as per a printed book of bhajans kept for each devotee. The books contain English bhajans as well as Prasanthi bhajans written in English. I sang an English bhajan - Love is my Form ,which Swami has sung !
At the end of 45 mts of bhajans, all of us chanted Omkar thrice after which there was 5 minutes of silence .The silent sitting was concluded by an English version of Asatoma followed by the original. We then did the Arati both in English and the original version.We stood up for the Arati but no camphor was offered.Only singing of the Arati.
We went for a Sai Bhajan on 24 Apr 08, Thursday in the San Francisco Sai Center at 573, Van Ness Avenue. The Centre is on the first floor of a building with three to four rooms -one for bhajans, one for the library and one for study circle. The flat has been donated by some devotee here. Huge photographs of Swami greeted us everywhere .In the Bhajan hall there was a harmonium, tabla, mikes etc.
In addition to Latha, Sai and I, there was only one lady present. Two other devotees joined us late .The Bhajan session started with 3 Omkars , after which Ganesh Bhajan was sung followed by Guru etc.The only difference was that each Bhajan singer has to first mention the number of the Bhajan he/she is going to sing as per a printed book of bhajans kept for each devotee. The books contain English bhajans as well as Prasanthi bhajans written in English. I sang an English bhajan - Love is my Form ,which Swami has sung !
At the end of 45 mts of bhajans, all of us chanted Omkar thrice after which there was 5 minutes of silence .The silent sitting was concluded by an English version of Asatoma followed by the original. We then did the Arati both in English and the original version.We stood up for the Arati but no camphor was offered.Only singing of the Arati.
After the bhajans there was Study circle there were 11 fresh devotees, both gents & ladies, excluding the three of us. The two Bhajan singers went away after the bhajans.There were 7 to 8 copies of a book on the teachings of the Buddha which was distributed amongst all of us and we all took turns in reading one paragraph each from the copy with us. In between doubts/discussions on the paragraphs were discussed by all of us. The study circle lasted one hour and fifteen minutes.
It was an exhilarating experience to merely be in the Sai Center. and later to take part in the Bhajan and the Study Circle. Devotees here sincerely believe in the Omnipresence, Omnipotence and Omniscience of Swami.
San Francisco and its suburbs in the Bay Area are close to the Pacific Ocean and they are beautiful, exotic, spotlessly clean, coastal cities. The jewel in the Crown as it were is that, a number of these suburbs has a Sai Centre each .Although independent, they operate under one Regional head and take directions accordingly. If it is Swami's Sankalpa I should be visiting each and every one of them.
Details of the Centres, the procedures being followed in the Sathya Sai Organisations in the US on all our activities like bhajans, study circle, Seva etc have been given on a web site http://www.saicenters.org/. The user name for this site is loveall and password serveall.
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